You may have heard by now, but in 2025, the New York Jets became the first team in NFL history to finish a season with zero interceptions.
Finding defenders with a knack for picking off passes will clearly be a focal point for New York in the 2026 offseason. As a result, one of their top pass rushers, Jermaine Johnson, seems to be hoping that the team will bring back one of his former teammates, who had a nose for the football during his tenure in Florham Park.
Taking to X/Twitter on Thursday, Johnson posted a “face holding back tears” emoji in response to a Jets fan who jokingly suggested that former New York safety Ashtyn Davis, most recently of the Miami Dolphins, would follow new Jets defensive coordinator Brian Duker back to the Jets.
While the fan’s tweet is in jest, Davis’ return to New York is not outside the realm of possibility. Davis, an impending free agent, is familiar with Duker, who served as the Dolphins’ secondary coach and pass-game coordinator in 2025.
Davis, a 2020 third-round pick of the Jets, spent five seasons with the team, primarily serving as a special teamer and backup safety. In 69 games (22 starts), he had a penchant for taking the ball away across limited defensive snaps. Davis collected eight interceptions, four fumble recoveries, and three forced fumbles on 1,638 defensive snaps; for perspective, that is a little more than 1.5 seasons’ worth of snaps for an every-down starter.
Per 1,000 defensive snaps (about one season’s worth for a starting DB), Davis averaged 4.9 interceptions, 2.4 fumble recoveries, and 1.8 fumble recoveries during his five seasons with the Jets. That is the type of takeaway-forcing efficiency that will make the Jets salivate over the next months as they scout free agents and draft prospects.
As a matter of fact, Davis remains the most recent Jet to nab an interception. In New York’s 2024 season finale, ironically against Davis’ future team, he intercepted Miami quarterback Tyler Huntley in the second quarter on a pass intended for Jaylen Waddle. The Jets have played 70 quarters of regular season football since then, and none of them featured an interception by a Jets defender.
In 2025, Davis signed with the Dolphins on a one-year, $2.5 million deal. He played the largest defensive role of his career, starting a career-high 12 games (out of 15 appearances) and logging 714 defensive snaps. The California product finished with 65 tackles, four passes defended, one interception, and a forced fumble. He had 10 tackles and a pass deflection across two games against the Jets.
While the lightning-quick Davis is a ball of energy who knows how to take the ball away, he is erratic when it comes to coverage and tackling. The former track star missed 17 tackles in 2025, per Pro Football Focus, while allowing a 108.8 passer rating on throws into his coverage.
Davis will be an unrestricted free agent in March. Time will tell whether the Jets actually show interest in their former takeaway specialist, but a reunion makes sense for multiple reasons, between Davis’ familiarity with Duker and the Jets’ desperate need for players with a proven ability to generate takeaways.
At the very least, it sure seems like Johnson has made it known whether he would like Davis to return.
